Economics
Nigeria Inflation Soars to Almost Four-Year High of 12.8%
- Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast inflation of 11.8%
- Food prices surged 12.7% in March from a year before
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Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to the highest in almost four years in March, adding pressure on the central bank to ease foreign-exchange controls that are pushing up food and fuel prices.
Inflation in Africa’s largest economy and oil producer accelerated to 12.8 percent on an annualized basis, the highest since July 2012, from 11.4 percent in February, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said by e-mail on Tuesday. Food prices rose 12.7 percent in March from a year ago, compared with 11.4 percent in the previous month, driven up by transportation costs, the planting season and foreign-exchange movements, the statistics agency said.